- Friday 05.10.2002
- U.S. Broadcast: Pay Per View
- Promotion: Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Ownership: Zuffa, LLC
- Venue: CenturyTel Center
- Location: Bossier City, Louisiana, United States
- Enclosure: Octagon
- TV Announcers: Mike Goldberg, Jeff Osborne, Frank Mir
- Ring Announcer: Bruce Buffer
- Post-Fight Interviews: Ryan Bennett
- Attendance: 7,200
- PPV Buys / Buyrate: 50,000 | TV Ratings:
- MMA Bouts: 8
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Promotion Links:
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Event Links:
Fight Card
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UFC Middleweight Championship
Submission, Guillotine Choke
1:33 Round 3 of 5, 11:33 Total8Main Event
185
5 x 5 | Pro
Cancelled & Fizzled Bouts
Referees
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John McCarthy
Bustamante vs. Lindland (8), Rodriguez vs. Kosaka (7), Baroni vs. Suloev (5) -
Larry Landless
Penn vs. Creighton (6), Uno vs. Edwards (4)
Wiki
UFC 37 Wiki
In the main event of UFC 37, UFC Middleweight Champion Murilo Bustamante defeated Olympic silver medalist Matt Lindland twice, according to many fans. The controversy arose when Lindland, who was caught in an armbar early on into the fight, supposedly tapped out, causing Bustamante to release the hold. After the stoppage, Lindland complained that he did not tap, causing referee "Big" John McCarthy to restart the action. Bustamante caught Lindland again in a Guillotine Choke in the third round, ending what became known as the "double tap" fight.
Following the win, Bustamante was stripped of his middleweight title when he signed an exclusive contract with Pride Fighting Championships, the Japanese-based competitor to the UFC, which was offering more lucrative contracts to many fighters at the time. The event also featured the first UFC appearances of Robbie Lawler and Ivan Salaverry.